‘Magic’ bikes

DENVER — Across the center of this sprawling city are bikes that can be rented for $5. The same system is coming to San Antonio next year.

The bikes offer a whole new way to get around. I stepped off the bus from the airport, swipped my credit card at the kiosk, pulled out a bike, tossed my carry-on bag into the front basket and, for my interview with Denver B-cycle, rode to its headquarters, which happens to be in the former office of Burton Snowboards. For $5 I had a 24-hour B-cycle membership, and as long as I kept the trip to under a half hour I would not be charged any more. There are 42 kiosks across the city where I can return the bike at any time.

To be clever I could simply ride from one kiosk to the next, exchanging the bikes as I went and never be charged more than five bucks. In fact the city has a challenge for folks to leap frog bikes between all of the stations. It’s about a 26-mile ride. Instead after my interview, I just picked up another bike and rode to the bike kiosk in front of my hotel.

The bars and restaurants were just starting to come to life as I easily cruised with traffic across town.

The 500 rental bikes have been around for two months and have proven to be almost indestructible. One bike has been stolen. There was one car/bike accident, but no injuries. Some folks have gotten a little carried away with ringing the bell, so a few have worn out.

The bikes are most popular with tourists but even those who own bikes of their own find them useful.

For Danny Noriega, who works as mechanic for Denver B-cycle, the bikes are perfect for going to the movies with his girlfriend. Although he has multiple bikes to choose from at home, he likes the red bikes because he does not have to worry about security and can just leave the bikes at the kiosk outside the movie house.

Eventually, city planners hope the bikes get more people riding more often. By 2018 the goal is to have 10 percent of all trips done on bike. They call the B-cycle bikes the “magic” bikes.

In less than a year we can find out if they can work their spell in San Antonio.